Florence Testorelli

Florence Testorelli is a graduate assistant at the Institute of Geography and Sustainability (IGD) at the University of Lausanne. She holds a Master of Science in Geography, Environment, and Planning from the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and a Bachelor in International Relations from the University of Geneva.

Her research interests focus on societal issues related to food systems through a political ecology approach. In the past, she has worked on topics such as urban densification in Switzerland (FNS; 2021–2025), Urban Essential Workers (NFP 80; "COVID-19 in Society"), and, most recently, her Master's thesis on rooftop gardening practices in Kathmandu, supervised by Prof. René Véron.

Her PhD focuses on land-use planning, with a particular emphasis on the use of agricultural land outside building zones and its implications for land use. From this perspective, the work also aims to examine housing inequalities, particularly temporary housing associated with agricultural production, as well as the role and living conditions of seasonal workers in the agricultural sector in Switzerland.

For more than five years, she has been actively involved on the Slow Food Youth board of directors.

Her work is supervised by Professor Gabriela Debrunner within the Planning and Housing (PLANH) research group.